Federico Chiesa could get surprise Liverpool lifeline after honest Arne Slot admission
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Federico Chiesa might be given an unexpected lifeline by Arne Slot despite being omitted from Liverpool's Champions League squad.
The Dutch manager named a 23-man squad for the league phase of this season's tournament, with the Italian forward notably absent.
The decision to exclude the forward was ultimately forced due to UEFA regulations and Liverpool's last-minute transfer dealings.
Slot chose to pick Rio Ngumoha over Chiesa, with the young player needing to occupy one of Liverpool's 17 overseas slots to be eligible for selection, despite being English and only 17 years old.
This is because he does not yet qualify for a homegrown spot or a 'List B' position under UEFA squad rules, as he only joined the club as a 15-year-old from Chelsea last summer.
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Meanwhile, if a deadline day move for Marc Guehi had not fallen through, the Reds would have likely included Chiesa in their ranks, leaving out summer signing Giovanni Leoni - who is also not eligible to be registered on Liverpool's list of Under-21s players.
However, with Slot requiring an additional center-back option after missing out on the England international, he made the tough decision to leave out Chiesa.
Ahead of the Burnley match, the Reds boss confessed that the forward was not pleased with his decision to omit him from the Champions League squad, although Slot did commend Chiesa for his overall response.
"Of course that is one of the most difficult things you have to do as a manager," he said.
Nevertheless, he will be absent from the Reds' European opener against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday evening after being omitted from Slot's continental squad.
Yet simply because Chiesa finds himself excluded from Liverpool's European roster at present doesn't necessarily mean he won't contribute to this season's Champions League campaign.
Due to a late regulation amendment from UEFA, Slot will actually be granted two windows to modify his Champions League squad throughout the season - with the first potentially allowing Chiesa to still feature during the league phase
UEFA have implemented changes to their registration regulations which will allow clubs to make one alteration to their squad during the league phase in response to long-term injury or illness.
Following a meeting of the UEFA Executive Committee on Thursday, the governing body announced: "The Executive Committee approved an amendment to the 2025/26 UEFA men's club competitions' regulations to admit the temporary replacement of a maximum of one outfield player with long-term injury or illness during the league phase until matchday six included.
"The reasoning for the adaptation is to ensure that squad lists are not unfairly reduced and players are safeguarded from additional workload pressure."
As a consequence, should one of Liverpool's 17 foreign players sustain a long-term injury or illness up to the club's sixth Champions League league phase fixture away to Inter Milan on December 9, Slot would be permitted to temporarily promote Chiesa in their stead.
Additionally, clubs will continue to be able to make a maximum of three alterations to their squad in February prior to the knockout phase.